Kansas House 76th District candidates David Claridge and Russel Stukey discussed data centers, property taxes, education funding and other topics during KVOE’s Candidate Forum on Tuesday.
On data centers, Stukey said data center decisions should be locally made.
Claridge said data centers aren’t regulated enough.
Stukey says the Emporia data center situation might resemble the run-up to building Wolf Creek.
Claridge says Senate Bill 98 gives data center developers a list of tax breaks with no guarantee of community benefit.
Property taxes was the big legislative topic for several years before data centers. Claridge says the state needs to step in and generate some tax relief.
Stukey says the state doesn’t have a lot of options for reducing property tax burdens.
Education funding could see a major shift in the funding formula in the 2027 session. Claridge says it’s time to follow other nations in developing ways to improve education.
Stukey says funding changes have to take into account the state’s rural areas.
KVOE’s Issues Forums take place later this month. USD 251 Together will be on at 10:06 am Thursday to speak in favor of the 2 bond issues for a new high school and a new athletics complex. We discuss the data center and battery energy storage system questions in front of Emporia voters on Oct. 20; representatives of Emporians for Progress and Emporia Neighbors United will be on that program.
